How to watch Nebraska vs. Penn State: Time, streaming info, storylines for Saturday's matchup

In a critical late-season matchup with some coaching intrigue, Penn State will play host to Nebraska in a Big Ten Saturday Night showdown at 7 p.m. ET in Happy Valley.

Nebraska coach Matt Ruhle is a Penn State alum (playing linebacker from 1994-97) with strong ties to Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft (from when both were helping lead the Temple program).

Ruhle was reported as a prime candidate for the Nittany Lions' head coach opening after the firing of James Franklin, but he quashed those rumblings by signing a two-year extension at Nebraska through 2032.

“Some of the best memories in my life happened on that campus, in that town and in that stadium,” Ruhle, whose family had season tickets to Nittany Lions games, said recently about playing against Penn State.

Penn State interim head coach Terry Smith also has ties to Ruhle, having served on his staff at Temple as an assistant in 2013.

Both teams are coming off victories. Nebraska (7-3) should be well rested with a bye week after its 28-21 road victory over UCLA.

Penn State (4-6) snapped a six-game losing streak last week with a 28-10 victory over Michigan State. The Nittany Lions can salvage a lost season by winning their final two games to become bowl eligible. Penn State also is trying to avoid becoming the first team to finish with a losing record after being ranked in the preseason top two.

How to watch Nebraska vs. Penn State:

• When: Saturday, Nov. 22
• Where: Beaver Stadium, University Park, Pennsylvania
• Time: 7 p.m. ET
• TV: NBC
• Live Stream:Peacock
• Announcing team: Noah Eagle (play-by-play), Todd Blackledge (analyst and quarterback for Penn State from 1979-1982, winning the '82 national championship) and Kathryn Tappen (sideline reporter). Terry McAulay is the rules analyst.

Nebraska overview

The Cornhuskers keep improving in their third season under Ruhle, who went 5-7 in 2023 and 7-6 last year. In his two previous head coaching stops at Temple and Baylor, Ruhle won 10 games in his third season. He won't be able to lead Nebraska to that mark (for the first time since 2012), but he can guide the Cornhuskers (who close the schedule with Iowa next week) to their first season with at least eight wins since 2016.

After a season-ending injury to Dylan Raiola, freshman quarterback TJ Lateef made an impressive starting debut against UCLA, completing 13 of 15 passes for 205 yards and three touchdowns in a Southern California homecoming for the Compton native.

Running back Emmett Johnson, who leads the Big Ten in rushing (1,131 yards), had 232 combined yards (129 rushing, 103 receiving, the first player in Nebraska history to top 100 yards in both categories during the same game) and three TDs against UCLA.

"I personally believe Emmett Johnson should be in New York (as a Heisman finalist)," Ruhle said. "I think he should be a Heisman candidate. I think he should be a Doak Walker finalist, if not winner.”

Penn State overview

The Nittany Lions have relied heavily on running back Kaytron Allen (third in the Big Ten with 917 rushing yards, including a career-high 181 against Michigan State) since losing starting quarterback Drew Allar to a season-ending ankle injury Oct. 11.

In four games as the starting quarterback, redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer has completed 64 of 100 passes for 584 yards and three touchdowns. After facing top 10 defenses in Iowa, Ohio State and Indiana, Grunkemeyer had his best game against Michigan State (8 of 13 passings, 127 yards, two TDs).

Despite its six-game losing streak amid the departure of a head coach and the loss of a starting QB, Penn State has fought to stay in games. Five losses have been by one possession and two to top 10 teams — notably the 27-24 loss to Indiana.

The Nittany Lions still have a point differential of plus-93 points — by far the highest margin for a losing team (at plus-35 points, the next two sub-.500 teams are 5-6 Mississippi State and 4-6 Auburn).

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• College football: Washington at UCLA, Saturday, 10:30 p.m. ET
• NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Los Angeles Rams, live coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET with Football Night in America

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